Do Arsenal stick or twist with Martinelli & Smith Rowe?

Oh that healthy debate. Yes, healthy, because as much as some may grumble about who starts for Arsenal over who, the fact it is even a discussion in the first place is precisely what this club needs.

Competition for places should never be feared, it should be enouraged. Arsenal plan on going big in the summer transfer window once more and the idea isn’t to go out and sign a bunch of backup players to the starting lineup, it’s to sign those who will rival the established few.

Arsenal’s forward line is bursting with youthful exuberance and quality, with the left side in particular an area to cherish with two men both aged under 21 years old going hammer and tongs for a place in the starting lineup.

Ahead of facing Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday, in a crucial game en route to deciding the top four outcome, the debate will once again reopen over who should be given the nod between Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli. Both with stylistic differences, albeit the pair adding new and similar layers to their game, Mikel Arteta has one of the best choices to make.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1522572282920677378

Arsenal vs Leeds: Does Arteta stick or twist with his selections and play Emile Smith Rowe or Gabriel Martinelli on the left?

Over the past six games the starts have been shared equally between the two. Martinelli got the nod against Southampton, Brighton and West Ham, with Smith Rowe starting away at Crystal Palace, Chelsea, and at home to Manchester United.

Martinelli turned up with the vital assist for Gabriel last time out but also had a quiet game, as well as a disjointed one with Nuno Tavares on that left side. That’s now one goal in his last 17 appearances.

Both are supremely talented young players with their whole careers ahead of them, but how long can Arteta keep going horses for courses with his selections? For the sake of both they would naturally benefit from a long run in the side, as looking back on the last six games there is a case to make that Smith Rowe’s display at Stamford Bridge is the only that stands out as being a solid performance.

Is that due to regular changes?

For Sunday’s game against Leeds Arteta will have to take a look at the visible weaknesses on the left side that Martinelli had with Nuno, while also factoring in his quality in individual moments like he produced for the winning goal. Being at home plays a part, too, as does Smith Rowe’s seeming lack of full fitness.

It’s a case of stick or twist. Does the manager go for some continuity and play Martinelli again, or go back to Smith Rowe to keep the rotation up and select a player more capable of operating in the half-spaces in a game where Arsenal are expected to see most of the ball?